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Senate EPW hearing: Senators press EPA for clear PFAS disposal standards and liability safeguards
Summary
Senators and witnesses at the Senate Environment and Public Works hearing urged the EPA to set practical PFAS disposal thresholds, warned that unclear rules are raising infrastructure costs and deterring bidders, and debated whether Congress should legislate liability protections for passive receivers such as contractors and municipal utilities.
Chair Capito opened the Senate Environment and Public Works hearing saying the committee would examine how PFAS cleanup and disposal affect billions of dollars in infrastructure investment and why a lack of clear standards is choking projects and raising costs. "Today, we'll discuss another part of the PFAS problem, how PFAS cleanup and disposal directly affects billions of dollars in infrastructure investment," she said.
The hearing focused on three related problems: inconsistent disposal acceptance by landfills and insurers, the absence of implementable federal screening levels for soil, and uncertainty over who can be held liable once sites are designated under CERCLA (Superfund). "Landfills often will not accept soil unless the soil is tested for PFAS because insurance companies won't provide coverage to the landfill operator," Capito said, describing a cascade that inflates bid contingencies…
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